World’s richest man doubles down on gold

The world’s richest man, valued around $69 billion, just put $750 million into several gold mining projects in Mexico through his Minera Frisco SAB company.

Slim swooped in as a company named AuRico fell on tough times. As a result of production drops and labor issues, AuRico was in desperate need of a restructuring effort.

AuRico will sell properties including the Ocampo mine and Venus and Los Jarros projects in northern Chihuahua and a 50% stake in the Orion project in Nayarit.

According Bloomberg, the proposed sale would be the largest gold deal involving a Mexican company, Globally, there have been 19 gold-mining deals bigger than $100 million announced this year, valued at $6.49 billion.

The move marks a capital-intensive shift by the world’s richest man into the world’s best currency and inflation hedge. Slim is clearly banking on continuously rising gold prices as the global economy struggles to grow.

With increased gold buying from central banks, the new classification of gold as a top-tier asset next to cash and treasury bonds for banks and unlimited quantitative easing, the deal is another highlight in a full-fledged push into precious metals by the world’s richest investors and institutions.